08/10/2009

The Death of Television Gardening Shows

When HGTV decided to cease production of my show, I wasn't at all surprised. The writing had been on the wall for some time. In the beginning, my show aired in prime time, then it was moved to weekends only, then it was moved to the wee hours of the morning on Satuday and Sunday, and it's now on at the crack of dawn on Sunday only. Along the way, my ratings began to slide, in part because it seems fewer and fewer gardeners actually took the time to watch television, although I can't help wondering whether the lousy time slots had something to do with the ratings issue as well.

When I got word my contract wouldn't be renewed, I pretty much decided that my television career was over. However, my business manager insisted that I should explore the possibility of taking my show (or an entirely new show) to another network. After all, I had a loyal and sizeable following of deeply commited and sometimes fanatical fans. So he contacted virtually every cable network to gauge their interest, and the response was unanimous: Not one of them was interested. In fact, one of the networks to whom we pitched a new show idea said our proposal was brilliant. They then asked if we had anything along the lines of "Amazing Race!"

I still believe there's a market for good-old "How-To" programming. That's why I launched GGTV as part of my website, wherein I present gardening tips that I believe can be of benefit to all gardeners, regardless of their level of expertise. It cost a fair amount of money to produce the webisodes, but my hope is that as the website grows in popularity, advertising revenue will offset those costs.

So spread the word. Tell your friends and fellow gardeners to go to www.gardenerguy.com. And as allows, let me know what you think.

Comments

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All I can say is thank you so very much for inspiration and words of encouragement. I have been watching your show on HGTV for a number of years and will continue to follow your posts online. By the way, the fishing is wonderful in FL and the weather is beautiful down here if you are still looking to move :)

I was crushed when I heard your show would not be back, but that is the way these days. Advertisers don't want to shell out big bucks for Gardening Shows I guess. I look forward to your GGTV episodes and plan on featuring them on my blog, if that is alright with you :) Best wishes!

Paul-
I just found out about the website today when this month's Fine Gardening arrived (I haven't seen any swear words yet but the cocktail was a nice touch). I came immediately to offer my thanks for all the years of entertaining gardening info and my support for your new endeavor. So although change is hard, this will allow us to see more of you, anytime we want and sleep a little later on Sunday morning. How bad can that be?

Paul, as an avid gardener and cook, i've always thought of you as gardening's Emeril! Perhaps a show on Planet Green re organic gardening and incorporating backyard gardening into the kitchen?! Thank you for many years of motivational how-to entertainment!

I used to watch HGTV a lot when there was a reasonable amount of gardening. Now there's almost nothing, so I haven't paid much attention to the channel for several years. I really enjoyed your show and watched it almost every week. I loved your comments--both silly and serious--alongwith your funny crew.
I miss your show and others like it. I was a novice gardener and now I feel like I'm a much better one, thanks to you and other master gardeners who were willing to share their expertise.

Paul,
I was extremely bummbed when I heard your show is no longer going to be run on HGTV..er...I mean HTV. You are the #1 reason I started gardening and the tips and tricks that you and your show gave me earned me the name "Plant Dr." amongst my family and friends. I was lucky enough to buy a new home a few years back and what I learned is now on display. Thanks for your show and I pray that you get another one soon. In the mean time i'll be using this web site as my source for planting.

I am an ealier riser and I have a habit of looking for you program when I get up and watch it if it's on.

Your tips, advice and humor are the reasons I watch. I HATE that HGTV will no longer be carrying your program. It is very much their loss.

I agree with the writer above. While I do enjoy the how-to home improvement shows, I REALLY enjoy gardening shows such as yours, Rebecca's Garden, Victory Garden and Gardener's Diary. I believe that these as well as yours are also off tv now.

The landscaping shows are nice and fun to watch, but what good will it do you to add the plants that they show you if you are unsure of how to plant and care for them.

I live in Southern Illinois, but I garden year round. If I'm not planting, digging or composting out in the yard, I'm inside planning a new bed, what to plant, or move for the coming year.

My sister (also an avid gardener) and I were fortunate enough to see you in Paducah, KY a couple of years ago and very much enjoyed the show.

Thank you for all of your help, advice and sharing your knowledge throughout the years. I am delighted that you started up your web site and will continue returning to it to pick your brain some more.

Too many shows about selling your house...not enough about gardening! At the same time, I know it gets harder to have ideas for shows that seem fresh and new. As a Tulsan now living the Pacific Northwest, I will miss seeing those shots of your yard in Tulsa...a touch of home. But to know you still are out there and on the web for viewing any time is a good thing. May it be a great venture...best of luck Paul!

So , so sad that the show was canceled. One of the main reason I got cable was because of gardening shows on HGTV. Then, one by one they began disappearing.
I get up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to watch your show. And now they canceled it!!! I rarely watch HGTV anymore. I'm sick of the endless decorating, selling, selling, selling, updating, selling, selling shows. I guess we are all supposed to feel inferior if we don't value/aren't interested in those programs.
Thanks for all your hard work!!!

Oh my gosh!!! I just found out today they cancelled your show. I have only been into gardening for a couple years and I love your show! I'm addicted. I can't understand with all the interest in "going green" why they would cancel the greatest gardening show on TV. Maybe you could just change the name to "Sustanable by the Yard", or "Grow your own local food", or "Eco-friendly Backyards" etc., and keep doing the same thing. Seriously. Hang in there.

I used to watch your show every weekend morning back when I lived at home. I even set my alarm for the very early Saturday mornings because I loved your show so much. I even watch the limited episodes that they have on HGTV.com - they're helping me get through the winter. Have you contacted PBS about doing your show there? They have Victory Garden, which is informational, but not nearly as entertaining and enjoyable as your show. I hope you find a good format to get back on the air.

I'll follow you here! I've written to HGTV and told them they should rename it HRETV (HomeRealEstateTV) and lamented the loss of many of my favorite shows. Now yours has been added to the list! Their loss! Please keep doing what you do best: teaching us with humor and clarity. We appreciate it!

So sorry to learn your show is no longer on HGTV.
I always looked forward to waking early on Sunday AM to watch GBY.
So, I looked through the tv listings, the HGTV website and still couldn't find out where the heck you went to.
Glad to see you are making the most of your situation Paul.
I'll miss seeing your zany antics and learning something new each week.
Best of luck in whatever you decide to do. I hope you know how much we viewers loved your show.

I can't believe there is no market for your show,I watched it every chance I got,and thought you were the best. I love the way you put information and humor in one,surely someone will wake up in TV land.... I'm hoping to see you soon.Your show was one reason I kept cable,now I don't bother... Good Luck to you in your ventures!

Your show was only one of two I even watch on TV anymore thank God I have a DVR. I am 28 and my wife/two kids enjoy your show as well as your whimsical humor. I may stop watching HGTV all together as everything they do now relates to reality TV gardening and landscape space renovation shows. I wrote them telling them what I said above. I am very surprised your were not picked up by another company.

Thank you Paul for posting the GGTV episodes! I'm enjoying watching them and really love that we get to see some of the vintage spots you did locally. It makes me wonder if you could do gardening segments that you could syndicate to local stations across the country? Good luck in all you do!

Terrible!!! I really miss you! HGTV made a mistake. You did an incredible job traveling the country visiting cool gardens and teaching us garden tricks from your own backyard. I think PBS should pick you up :)

PAUL,my buddy...I found you! I'm so glad I found people that are as crazy about you as I am. There's no "Gardening Guy" that compares to you, your TEACHING, your humor and fun, and your passion about gardening. I have
F O L L O W E D you through ALL of your crazy time slots. I'd set my alarm for your early shows. I was so hungry to learn more gardening, even if it was a rerun. I used my VCR often. No matter what time, I made SURE I didn't miss it.

And I agree with others here that are disappointed that with HGTV the "G" has somehow disappeared. I'd like to know how they decided that gardeners were more interested in how to spend THOUSANDS of dollars on hardscape and glamming up the outsides, NO teaching, instead of shows like GBTY, the "HOW TO" gardening...every aspect of it, Q & A's. I have found that TRUE gardeners rarely have the manicured lawns. We usually have weeds (especially those who chose not to use chemicals)and show signs of many projects going on....there's always sooooo much to do. Not that we don't want things beautiful. Our hearts are just more in to the learning of how to. And that's where I miss the Gardening Guy.
I hope to be learning more gardening from the Gardening Guy real soon. Love him!

I lovingly referred to you as "my boyfriend," as in "Honey, I'm going to watch my boyfriend now." For 12 years my husband has been just fine with this. Oh, how I miss your show. I have labored hard the last two years and felt that I was finally getting things under my belt. I just wanted to do things organic and right. You, alas, were difficult to find and I had to go largely from memory. I surely miss you and was looking up gardening shows tonight - I miss your show that much. I agree with everyone else that the network needs to change to another anacronym. Perhaps, BTV, as in Bored TV. Oh my.

I'm sorry to hear about your show being moved slowly off the air. I used to watch it here and there, when I had time. However, I don't believe you did anything wrong that would justify removing you off TV. I think your audience changed. Not for the networks, but the gardeners; the viewers. I started a TV show called Gardening Rhythms. In 6 months, it went from just showing the Bay Area in CA, to over 106 stations across the country. Most of the shows are played in NH and MD. And I have only 18 episodes.

I'm not at gardener, but a Permacultist. People are looking for the next "green" thing. And Permaculture is not new, but it is new to a lot of gardeners. It appears that people what to hear/learn more than how to oil and sharpen gardening tools for the winter. They want to know specifics about companion plants, water catchment systems, passive solar heating, etc.... I have trouble trimming down a show to fit in a 1/2 hour. And I do all of the filming myself.

Here are a few things I learned about making and marketing a show. I try not to have guests on the show. It just weakens it. I went through a period where I did that. People want to see consistency and having different people take over the show from one week to the next does not sit well with them. Another thing I learned is to not visit places. Same reason. Last, I learned to teach methods by using "one liners" and then give the viewer a concrete thing they can take home with them. Make connections and relationships between objects.

I learned to keep it simple, straight forward and always have at least 10 new items per show. God only knows how much I had to practice. It's not easy! No repeating subjects and pieces of information from show to show, but it can be within the show. I learned to explain things through time-lapse and other simple time squashing methods. -Watch how the sum moves and see the shadows-. Just simple things people don't notice throughout the day or think they have no need.

Doing the webpage thing and YouTube thing has not been great. It's a very hard way to go. YouTube is at the level of 12 year olds. And people want to see things they need with in 1 or 2 minutes. Anything else longer is forgotten. I find people still have a need to view things in formal way of screens and projectors. Technology has not helped, (namely 30 and 15 second commercial formats; it teaches young kids to shut down and focus on other things in the mean time) but pull people back to shorter tension spans and lack of concentration. There appears to be a difficult balance between the viewer's patience and the reward they get at the end of a clip.

I get my show out through Public Access and through making pilots to show networks. I still have yet to get my "big" break on a larger network. But with no money, two Canon HD cameras, wireless microphones and a student version of Adobe: Premier, After Effects and Soundbooth CS4, I got from nothing to 106 stations playing, national Hometown and WAVE awards and showing a least 4 times a week. I think I got a good start.......